Hermitage incident won't affect Obama visit to school

Jan. 30, 2014

Kaemon Robinson was charged with criminal homicide.

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UPDATE: 10:10 a.m.

President Barack Obama will address the shooting of a McGavock High School student when he visits the school this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said this morning.

“He will have something to say about the tragedy at the top of his remarks,” Carney said.

Carney called the shooting “a tragedy ... a terrible tragedy.”

Police say Kevin Barbee, 15, was shot Tuesday night in Hermitage by his classmate Kaemon Robinson, 17. Robinson was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide hours afterward.

Kevin’s mother Alicia Mahdi was surprised that Obama would include her son’s death in his remarks.

“I’m grateful that he will bring it up,” she said in a phone call Thursday morning. Alicia Barbee said she hopes Kevin’s death will serve as a reminder of “all the other kids who have lost their lives to gun violence.”

REPORTED EARLIER

Students at McGavock High School came together Wednesday, the day before a high-profile presidential visit, to mourn the loss of a sophomore who was shot dead Tuesday night in Hermitage.

Officials sent grief counselors into the school. They worked alongside White House officials preparing for President Barack Obama’s visit this afternoon.

Police say Kevin Barbee, 15, was shot Tuesday night in Hermitage by his friend and classmate Kaemon Robinson, 17. Robinson was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide hours afterward.

Witnesses told police that Robinson was playing with a pistol in an apartment on Burning Tree Drive when it fired, striking Barbee in the face.

Barbee was pronounced dead at Summit Medical Center.

Robinson had fled by the time police arrived, but later surrendered. Police said he would not talk to investigators.

“To truly further the investigation we need to hear from him — as a person who was handling the gun — exactly what took place,” police spokesman Don Aaron said.

Robinson and Barbee both lived in the Burning Tree Drive apartment complex, but the shooting took place in a friend’s apartment, Aaron said. Police had not found the firearm Wednesday.

Metro Schools took to Facebook to offer Barbee’s family and friends condolences.

“This young man’s life was just getting started, and his passing is a great tragedy,” the district said in a statement.

Fred Carr, Metro’s chief operating officer, said Obama’s appearance would take place as planned.